I think the first time I really took notice of actor Eric Balfour was in the 2003 re-make of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It wasn't just the movie, but the DVD's special features that caught many people's eye. In the behind the scenes featurette, Balfour seemed to like to be naked, stripping down for the cast and crew with a care free attitude about his body and being naked.
After seeing this footage, many of us felt it was just a matter of time before a director got the actor naked in another film, and two years later director Clement Virgo did just that. Balfour gave a beautifully uninhibited and raw performance in 2005's Lie With Me, naked, both physically and emotionally for much of the film. Balfour's sexual energy was powerfully strong and memorable. It is odd to me, especially with all the fanfare over Michael Fassbender in Shame, that Balfour often gets left out when discussions about male nudity in film arise. I think Balfour's performance is up there with Fassbender and Gere and all of the other actors who took the gamble to go full frontal on the big screen.
